Maryland AD search committee to hold first meeting July 15

The 17-person search committee formed by the University of Maryland to vet permanent athletic director candidates will hold its first meeting July 15, the committee's chair said Wednesday.

Linda Clement, the school's vice president for student affairs, said in a telephone interview that the committee will meet to discuss the characteristics it will look for in potential candidates. President C.D. Mote, who will retire Aug. 31, will address the committee, as will a university equity officer.

Debbie Yow, who served as Maryland's athletic director for 16 years, left June 25 to take the same job at N.C. State. Randy Eaton, the athletic department's chief financial officer, was named interim athletic director June 28.

Clement said the committee believes Mote's successor will be the one to hire the school's next athletic director, though she noted there is groundwork that can be done in the meantime. University of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan said last week that he expects a new president to be named sometime in August.

"I think there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of gathering information and gathering names and seeking nominations, people on the committee talking with colleagues across the country about identifying candidates," said Clement, who declined to discuss specific traits she will seek in potential candidates until the search committee has an opportunity to meet.

Going forward, Clement said "we probably will see how the presidential search is going and what timeline that is on. I think we need to be mindful of that."

Members of the school's presidential search committee will meet from July 13 to July 15 with 16 candidates at either Baltimore-Washington International airport or Dulles International Airport to conduct interviews that will last roughly two hours each, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the search process.

Once those interviews are completed, the committee will trim the list down to three to five finalists and present those finalists to Kirwan and the Board of Regents.